A Family Affair

In a beautifully restored manor in the French countryside, Christmas preparations are well underway for this young family

- Amandine Berth

AT HÉLÈNE DU VAL’S HISTORIC MANOR HOME in the south-west of France, where she lives with her husband Antoine and their four young children, Pénélope, Héloïse, Léonard and Hermione, the countdown to Christmas is always ceremoniously signalled by the lighting of candles in every room. “We don’t light candles during the rest of the year because, as you can imagine, it’s a little bit dangerous with four children,” Hélène says. “So the candles really are synonymous with Christmas for us.”

’TIS THE SEASON

On the first day of December, the family come together to kick off their festivities and decorate the Christmas